A character obsessed with an era they never lived through

Phrases like; articulation of failure and failure of articulation, eat to live or live to eat, he died to live, these were the best of times and these were the worst of times, seems to be foregrounded in the mind of Karamazov, when he thought of era that he seems to be obsessed with. On dwelling further deep a couple of centuries before the nineteenth, somewhere between seventeenth and sixteenth century was the century Karamazov was obsessed with. This obsession was for half a dozen reasons, if not more.

With some insight into Historiographical metafiction now Karamazov finds himself equipped to address the issues that he felt that needed to be sorted out in the era he was obsessed with. Now Karamazov is in a position to articulate the failure and to a great extent failure to articulate is overcome.

Karamazov elaborates a few issues in the following narration that he would have liked to move, in a certain direction, but did not, due to a variety of reasons, namely, non-availability of the resources of the contemporary period or era, non-availability of thinkers like Karamazov, out of the box thinkers, short sighted world view of that era, lack of purpose in life in that period, lack of avenues to channelize the energy and multi-dimensional thinking in those times, belief in non-violence as an alternative to many reprisals with human losses and wealth, the power of the common man with courage and determination and selfless disposition, scientific temper, belief in the constitutional framework, lack of patience and tolerance, unity in diversity etc.

Karamazov obsession is also reflected when he dwells into the areas which he found interesting in the era between sixteenth and seventeenth century and that was the scholarship of the generation of that time, there grasp in many languages both recent and ancient as well.

The understanding of the conflicts of Atheism and Catholicism, democracies and monarchies, conflicts among religions Islam, Christianity, Jews, racial discrimination, role of women in the society, slavery and class discrimination, churches and theatres and their ways and means to attract the people of those times, institutions run by the Patrons and meticulously supported by the Pages to provide the proper balance for the smooth functioning of the ruling class. To cite the example of the Patron and Page relationship we have the likes of Sir Philip Sydney and Christopher Marlowe, Goodere and Michael Drayton of the sixteenth century Britain.

Karamazov also was obsessed with the literary culture of the sixteenth and seventeenth century, which was a period of renaissance and had “come of age” and to a great extent dispelled the darkness of the middle ages. Karamazov was also aggrieved to think that he could not save Christopher Marlowe, a precious gem of the sixteenth century and he was of the firm opinion that Marlowe had a lot to offer to the world, even though Marlowe has already offered a lot considering the fact that in the tender age of 29 he was killed for a reason as paltry as blasphemy, which could have been resolved with the present resources which Karamazov believes he has.

Karamazov is also feeling guilty and helpless that he could not play a role in preventing the cruel treatment meted out to scholars like Robert Southwell and Christopher Marlowe who became scape goats of the rulers of the sixteenth and seventeenth century.

Karamazov does not forget the mighty lines of Christopher Marlowe from his numerous plays like Tamburlane 1 and Tambulane 2, Dido, Queen of Carthage, Edward II, The Jew of Malta, Massacre in Paris, Dr. Faustus. His mighty lines are and were being used by authors, historians, scholars, playwrights like William Shakespeare, Historians like Bettany Hughes, Jerry Brotton, Justin Morrozi etc., in their books and works. Christopher Marlowe’s play had lifted the status of Helen of Troy from a terrestrial demeanor to that of a celestial dimension. The pioneer of blank verse was Christopher Marlowe.

Karamazov vividly remembers Marlowe’s lines from

Tamburlane like

“the crack, the echo and the soldier’s cry,

Make deaf the air, and dim the crystal sky”.

From – Dido, Queen of Carthage

Aeneas:

But thou art gone, and leavest me alone,

To dull the air with my discoursive moan.

From – Dido, Queen of Carthage

Instead of music, I will hear him speak,

His single gaze, shall be,

my library.

From – Dr. Faustus

 “Is this the face, that launched a thousand ships

And burnt the topless towers of Ilium

Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss”

Similarly the works of Robert Southwell, like, Mary Magdelene’s Funeral Tears, and Saint Peter’s Complaint are a masterpieces.

Southwell’s poem “Times go by Turns” have the following beautiful lines:

Thus, with succeeding turns, God tempereth all,

That man may hope to rise, yet fear to fall.

Robert Southwell’s another poem “A Vale of Tears” has the following closing lines/couplets:

Let tears to tunes, pains to plaints be pressed,

And let this be the burden of thy song;

Come deep remorse, possess my sinful breast,

Delights, Adieu ! I harboured you too long.

Robert Southwell’s another verse from “The Nativity of Christ”

God is my gift, Himself he freely gave me,

God’s gift am I, and none but God shall have me.

Karamazov is very much pleased with the works of both Christopher Marlowe and Robert Southwell and therefore, would have wanted to be in their company and enriched his learning and wisdom and would have done his best to ensure that their precious lives were saved from the enemies of humanity, who have taken the rights and duties of the God into their own hands and misused their powers and lacking the compassion towards their subject and in ignorance have immortalized them for posterity to follow their footsteps and for themselves brought shame and hatred for posterity to always think and detest.

Karamazov also would have liked to have the learned a lot from educated, talented young boys of the sixteenth and seventeenth era and made the utmost use of it for the betterment of humanity.